The Secret of the Unicorn

Avalon: Web of Magic #4

by Rachel Roberts

A Unicorn Whispers....

Something has happened to the heart of Aldenmor. The Fairy Glen has vanished! New animal refugees are arriving in Ravenswood, including a mysterious and wild unicorn. The creature is frightened, confused - and wounded. Emily must face her greatest challenge to try and save the unicorn and learn its incredible secret.

What special magic does it hold? If Emily can't find a way to understand it, she just may uncover the most important clue yet to discovering her destiny and finding Avalon.

But time is running out.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Magic, Unicorns, Juvenile

187 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Rachel Roberts adores magic, adventure, animals, and music. Rachel is an devoted campaigner with animal rights and protection of wild places organizations. Rachel’s has been reading ever since she could first carry a book and enjoys getting lost in a fantastic story. Rachel has been a writer as well as a editor her entire career. Rachel says the majority of concepts for her stories and characters appear on lengthy hikes. She brings a little notepad, just for jotting down thoughts. Afterward at her house Rachel builds on the ideas together with feline friends, Attila and Raider. She also is in love with music, playing the piano, flute, as well as learning to play guitar.

Avalon: Web of Magic is Rachel’s very first series of novels.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aldenmor is being poisoned with black fire, a toxic poison that infects and kills everything it touches, including animals. A portal has opened up at the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve, a bunch of infected magical animals come tumbling through seeking refuge from the evil dark sorceress and her black fire, a very badly injured and traumatised unicorn among them. What secrets does she hold? Why is an evil harpy stalking Emily and Lorelei? Can Emily help heal the beautiful creature and learn her secrets and what happened to her? If she can win the trust of the frightened unicorn named Lorelei, she’ll learn who did this to her and why, she might also discover something terrifying about the magic web, and the danger everyone in the universe could be in. A really good book, not a whole ton of action but it was nice when Emily and Lorelei made music together, unicorns can make beautiful music with their horns, a part of the reason I love them in this series, I’m not usually a fan of the mythical creatures. But this series is an exception. I really despise Mrs Windor in this series, she wants the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve to be bulldozed so that a country golf club can be built there instead. Absolutely ridiculous, I’d say a Wildlife Preserve is more important than a silly golf club, especially since all the magical animals from Aldenmor and who knows where else are currently living there under the protection of Adrian, Emily and Kara. Mrs Windor is one of those annoying interfering characters you wish would just fuck off and mind their own business. She’s always looking to close down the Preserve and stick her large nose where it doesn’t belong. I can’t over state how much I love the dragonflies in this series, they’re beyond awesome and are attracted to Kara like a magnet. Not to mention they don’t need portals to visit earth, and pretty much anywhere else. I’d love to have those little guys as pets. Good book but not a ton of action. Onto book five.

[Lire-une-passion · Rating 4 out of 5]

"​En résumé, un tome 4 que j'ai adoré. Retrouver ce trio très sympathique m'a aussi fait plaisir. Retrouver leur amitié, ces liens qui les unissent fait plaisir à voir et détend beaucoup. Bien qu'il leur arrive des péripéties à chaque fois, l'auteure met bien en avant le fait que sans amitié et confiance, on ne peut pas avancer. Mais que lorsque ces deux sujets sont liés, tout arrive en mieux !"

http://lire-une-passion.weebly.com/fa...

[Bethany Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avalan is an amazing magic series about three girls who work together to find the true aura of magic. Each one is different, but special.Emily is loving and kind, while Adriana is Courageous and strong, while Kara is funny and popular. Each person is all different, but they work together to save the world from the dark forces emnating from the Shadowlands.

[Miss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con't: Revisiting Childhood Book (4 of 12) Series

This is one of the many kids stories that just happens to have a nugget of wisdom that speaks to you. The nugget that spoke to me--in a more personal way--was the following:

"But why would a person or animal just give up when there's still hope?...Especially if there are people trying to help?"
. . .
"Hope means different things to different people...And if you want to help, you have to be willing to give the kind of help that's needed, not just the kind you think is needed."

Sometimes giving up isn't just giving up. It's because that being has found hope in something else to finally let go. To let go and finally be at peace. (Post Mami's Passing)

Overall, a quick read that satisfies the craving from the genre of fantasy with an--obviously cheesy--ending that lets the reader know there is more to expect of the token trio to come in the next book.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily has been hearing a strange song around town, and soon after healing a multitude of creatures suffering from black fire, she meets a powerful unicorn that desperately needs her help - but with her own pain so deep, and a dangerous being hunting them both, can she truly save so majestic a beast? Roberts brings fans another exciting and heartwarming adventure, splendidly poetic and sure to keep readers enthralled cover to cover. How can Emily convince her friends the unicorn needs them when she isn't even willing to be honest with herself?

[Samantha Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series when I was young and it’s one that changed my life for the better! This series got me hooked into reading and holds such a special place in my heart. I’m currently re-listening to the audio book version and it’s just as magical and fun as I remembered. This series will always be one that I come back to.

[Deanna Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first one in the series I don't really remember a ton about on my re-read. I think it's interesting that unicorns are kept much more elusive and mystical than the other magical animals, which fits my personal unicorn canon lol. Curious to find out if Ozzie will ever be turned back into his elf-self or possibly stay a ferret!

[Alexis Hubsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Emily is my favorite and she resonates the most with me, but god there is much that I just wish was done differently.she is seen as the voice of reason, but nobody wanted to listen to her about Lorelei. This was my last chance at this series and I’m done with it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread. This was the first Avalon book I read, without knowing what was going on, but I’ve always loved magical music and unicorns and this book had that in spades. The plot was weak, though, and the writing juvenile.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a bit of a cheesy environmentalist message in it, but it was still okay. I do like Emily, and I also like unicorns, as well as Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve being a good setting. However, this book, like the rest of this series, is a bit annoying.

[sarahscrta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but nothing more

[Ryofire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I liked Emily's books more. She seems to be the sanest member of the team, but her books have issues. It's odd because I connect most with Emily in a lot of ways and her story thus appeals more to me, since I am also a child of divorcees, although I never got to live with my parents while they were married to each other.

A lot of this book made me ask "why is Emily such an idiot". I get that she's 12 or 13, but I find it hard to believe that someone that age with as much purported experience with animals as she has doesn't know what trauma is and what it can do to animals. Why is Lorelei reacting so horribly? Gee, it might be because something TRAUMATIZED her. Kind of like when abused animals shrink when people walk towards them because the animal is afraid of getting him. I also don't know what she thought to accomplish by lifting a bag of dog food in the air. Like... when it kept going did she not realize something was wrong? Why didn't someone familiar with animals not finish putting food in it, seal it and THEN put it away? I do appreciate the connection between Emily and the unicorn. I guess this foreshadows stuff in book 12, but anyway. Emily gets the best magical animal (not Ozzie, bleh). And that makes me happy.

I also think that Ghyll is meant to be funny and some sort of parody of the "Frog Prince" story. But he's just creepy and irritating. No means no. End of story. Stop persisting in ignoring the woman you are talking to. I don't think that the story improved for his presence. If he was gone... we wouldn't have lost out on anything, really.

Maybe what bothers me is the very shallow nature of the villains. They're evil because... just because? Are they all just sadists? What do they get out of doing all this? We never really learn the secret behind the Sorceress until books 6 and 12. Which is on purpose, obviously, but the one-off villains are kind of... boring. And lacking and suspense.

I don't know. Otherwise it was kind of an unremarkable book in a lot of ways. Although it has some secrets if you've finished the series already, so it's worth a reread. BIG foreshadowing for the end of the series.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

And we're back to Emily!

Whereas the last book took place in the magical world of Aldenmor, The Secret of the Unicorn brings us back to Ravenswood and the girls' life at home. I loved Adriane's adventure in the other world, so most of this book was not quite as exciting for me.

Overall, it doesn't seem like that much happens until the last few chapters. Emily is searching for a creature in Ravenswood that seems to be wounded, but no one is sure if it's good or evil. This is where the creepiness factor comes in, and I was pleasantly surprised by this. It's nice to know that not all the creatures from the magical world are fairies and rainbow zebras; it makes things just a tad more believable.

Anyway, this is a cute Emily story with a good message. There's also a nice bit of storyline with Emily's mother, which even I could relate to when I was younger. My only quip is that the book doesn't really advance the plot (though neither does book 5), but, again, it's a children's series, so if the whole point of the book is to get a meaningful life lesson across, then so be it. At least it's still entertaining.

[Dots]

Read these when I was a kid and looooveeeed them. :D
Glad I found them again.

[eena · Rating 4 out of 5]

an emily-centred book! i always thought she was going to be the main character of the three because of how she started off the series in the first book. she's also the one with the least flaws among the three, objectively speaking. although i like adriane an insane amount, she WAS still rude at some point, especially to kara. this book just proved emily's insane compassion, and her bond with the unicorn hinted that she might be more than just a healer who heals the animals. also, this book hinted a love line between adriane and zach! i'm only rereading this series so i know there's nothing lesbianism happening on here but i kinda wished it did. those two are cute, but who would not want an enemies to lovers trope between kara and adriane??

[Cassie]

I am excited to read this book because I have read all the books in the series except for this one. So, I am almost positive that this book will be great, just as the other books were. I think some people would think the series was farfetched if they didn't read the whole series and actually understand the plot and meaning. Also, I think that they are definitely books that you can snuggle up with at night because they are not at all scary if you over the age of seven. I would recommend this book and the whole series to anyone. Commence...

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't keep reading after this book. It was bad. Really didn't like it too much. I'm not the kind of person whose really girly. I don't like reading about too girly stuff. I prefer things with demons like the mortal Instruments. Read those. They are amazing.

Anyway, didn't like this book. Just no.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like it. I sometimes feel that Emily is halfway to being a Mary Sue, I don't want that. I want the dark mage Emily, who killed Ozzie, who became a lot more interesting, I want the not perfect Emily. I felt like it was another Emily saves the day book.

[Alexa]

What is the mood of what you are reading. Defend your claim.
I believe that in the first half, the mood is sadness and fear because the creatures fear the new animal that has come into their world. Sadness because the unicorn has had her horn severed from her head.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these when I was younger but I would still read them now. They have enough magic in them to entertain anybody.

[Jennifer Datus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma find a hurt unicorn. She wishes to help but the unicorn is scared because of what it has been through. Will the unicorn live or will the evil get their hands on the unicorn. A must read book.

[Ayano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, and I loved it!

[Phantom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily

[Star WaterGazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the newer covers for this whole series, but this was the only one that came up. Pooh.

[Dian Hartati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ingin baca seri-seri sebelum dan sesudahnya. Penuh imaji dan mendebarkan.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful in every sense of the word.

[Black Rabbit · Rating 2 out of 5]

andai terjemahannya bisa lebih bagus dari ini......

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

775 - 2014

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Or; Avalon Web of magic: the musical episode

[Marchel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harusnya cerita pertama yang melibatkan unicorn itu seru tapi mungkin pergulatan batin akibat sentuhan dengan unicorn dan diganggu harpy ... ya sudahlah.